A year of blogging about Classical Chinese Medicine
We’re running up on the one year anniversary of Deepest Health!* Can you believe it? One year and we’re up to almost 250 daily subscribers (thank you!) and a very respectable daily traffic number that averages around 15,000 page views a month. We also recently reached a search engine benchmark - receiving Pagerank 5! All of this despite the toll that my busy schedule has taken on my posting frequency. I want to thank each and every one of my readers for interacting with me, teaching me, promoting the site and just generally being awesome. Thanks!
I’ve been doing some thinking about where I would like the site to be in another year. The fact is that I would like to see more readers, more subscribers, and more conversation going on. This requires MORE content creation on my part, and I recognize that. I’ve been getting plenty of emails from readers wishing I would go back to my super frequent posting schedule of last summer. I’ve been thinking about whether I want to make blogging a priority again.
My posting frequency has plummeted for a variety of reasons, but it comes down to three major problems.
1. I’m way busy.
2. Getting more readers made me a little afraid to “speak my mind” especially when some of my readers are professors and quite active practitioners in the field.
3. I started to become unsure about what readers wanted.
These reasons are bad ones. To address number one - I’ll always be busy. I can’t let that get in my way. We’ve all had the experience of suddenly finding time for something we’re motivated to make a priority (new love, anyone?) just as we’ve all experienced the converse (taxes, anyone?) So, I guess that’s debunked. Number two is just crass fear. I’m a student. In a little more than a year, I’ll be a new practitioner. I’ve never claimed to be anything else, right? I know I’ve said this before. It scares me a little to know that my professors, my esteemed colleagues and practitioners with lots more experience are reading my words. However, the response has been overwhelmingly positive and it seems like folks want to see me writing more often - so I guess I’m going to have to consolidate my Kidneys and get on with it. T
To address the third issue - it is still a problem. Everyone seems to like something a little different. The most significant problem I have is the worry about writing for practitioners and dorky students (like me) and leaving average folks and brand new students without anything compelling to read. I’m just going to have to hope it works out. I’ve tried writing articles for new patients before, and it just didn’t move me very much. Every once in a while I feel like I put out something of interest to the general public, and those posts are rewarded with good traffic, but I don’t want that to be a focus.
In the end the greatest barrier is a combination of all of these. Because of my fear and lack of comprehension about what readers want has led to my spending WAAAAY too much time with each article. This has made it impossible for me to consider fitting posting regularly into my schedule. With these myths busted, hopefully I can get on with producing excellent content for all of you who are interested in reading it.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this public display of what is a private process. It’s like talking to yourself to work out a problem when you think nobody can hear, only I know you can hear. Such is the blogging life.
Eric
*Note: Deepest Health has actually been around in some form for almost 2 years, but I really began writing in earnest in June 2007
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Tags: Blogging, content, focus, health, overwhelm, rest, students, summer, teaRelated posts
Why does Classical Chinese Medicine seem so complicated?
This is the first part of a two part guest article by my friend and peer, Michael Givens. Michael is also a third year student of Classical Chinese Medicine at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR. He shares my fervor for the medicine and has been an inspiration to me as I seek to plumb the depths of this profession we have both chosen. I hope you will enjoy what he has to say. Please do leave your thoughts in the comments - he is a regular reader of the blog.
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When I first started to study Chinese medicine (long before I became a student at NCNM), I fell instantly in love with it because it made so much sense to me. When I read the Huangdi Neijing Suwen for the first time, it was as if all the questions I had about life, my place in relation to nature and the stars, the interplay between light and shade, warmth and cold, and how life seems to exist somewhere between them all were illuminated by Huangdi, Qibo and the other sages. The cycle of the five dynamic movements in nature and how they manifest inside and out of all things, defined for me what I felt was already true; I had found a detailed system that defined the wholeness I had been searching to understand.
As I pursued my studies as a Chinese medicine student, I began to see how my initial understanding was limited and superficial, and soon, rather than being the clearest and most elegant text I had ever read, the Neijing became the most complicated. I found myself spending hour upon hour trying to draw out the inter-lapping cycles of the six confirmations, influencing each other on the right and the left through time, in the heavens and on earth, connecting to the heavenly stems and earthly branches and the five movements…I quickly became lost in the details of such an amazingly intricate systematic understanding of the nature and movement of Qi.
When I first learned about the five organs and their relations to the five “elements”, it seemed so clear; yet, as I deepened my understanding of physiology (Chinese physiology that is), simple concepts like “Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water” became extremely complicated. How is it, after all, that Fire descends through the malleability of Metal, physiologically, or that Metal really descends only when Fire descends? What does it mean that Water, while it resonates with the flavor of Salty, is actually reduced by Salty and strengthened by Bitter? What is at the heart of the difference between the six atmospheric conditions and the five dynamic processes and how do they interact physiologically? Questions such as these began to plague me.
Of course, this is what happens as one deepens his or her understanding of something; and, as one narrows his or her focus from the “big picture” to the minutia, the complexities of the universe become overwhelming. Yet, the beauty of Chinese medicine lies in the central view that the Chinese sages held. Rather than lose themselves in the grand picture, focusing only on the Dao or on the stars alone, and rather than (as Western science has done) lose themselves in the smaller and smaller details of the parts, the sages of Chinese medicine maintained an open view of both through using the language of symbolism and correspondences and remaining focused on processes and dynamics, functions and movements. So, though I was swimming out in the ocean of stars, and at the same time swirling amidst the tiny fragments of manifestation, by taking on this central position of the Chinese, I found a way to begin to have clarity and understanding and to flow with the movement of nature.
This is not to say that I would advocate ignoring the details and taking for granted the whole, not at all in fact; as I said earlier, the Neijing incorporates extremely detailed understandings of the very large and the very small, though there is a much stronger emphasis on the very large. What I have found is that one’s lens is what matters, regardless of what one is looking at. The lens of the Chinese medical sages allowed them to see dynamic processes and functional qualities rather than matter or manifestation. Though much of what a Chinese doctor does is to examine the symptoms and manifestations (especially in that the pulse is so very important), the treatment comes about through understanding function and movement, quality and time.
But, this is where a new confusion arises and is really what I meant by the title of this article. Chinese medicine is complicated just because it’s complicated, to be sure. But, how we are learning about Chinese medicine is also complicated. At times we are looking from a point of view of function, and at times we are looking from a point of view of materials. At times we learn of formulas and treatments that are based on an understanding of processes, and at times we learn formulas and treatments that are based on a desire to supplement matter.
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How is a student of this medicine to behave? How are we to wade through this sea of complexity that so many years of history have created for us? That will be the topic of the second part of Michael’s article - to be released soon. Thanks for reading.
Eric
Tags: classical-chinese-medicine, five phases, focus, Learning, Michael Givens, neijing, overwhelm, Science, symbolismRelated posts
How to use the five elements to eliminate overwhelming stress
You may have noticed that I haven’t been producing much content these past few days. It haunts me, really, because my greatest hope is that this blog will develop into a great community for the exploration of Chinese medicine. It is a labor of love and I’ve worked hard and hope that everyone has enjoyed the results so far.
But there’s more to my life than blogging. Shocking, I know. During the summer, when the external demands on my time were small, it was very easy to produce lots of high quality content. I believe that this is still quite possible - despite the rather heavy load of work school and the resumption of my various non-academic school duties (student government, etc) bring me. So, what’s the hold up?
No matter how well prepared you are for a change, it inevitably shakes you. In this particular case, the intense workload has begun to produce a condition of overwhelm that has made me quite numb. I know I’m not the only one - my fellow classmates have experienced something similar. So, instead of freaking out I’ve decided to take charge of the situation and find a solution to this crippling sensation. Here’s five things - one for each of the elemental phases - I’m doing to rectify my balance.
1. Fire - Laugh and have fun with the people you love
Fire has a lot to do with our ability to experience joy and ease, as well as our connections with other human beings. In overwhelming situations, we often let all of this perish. When I’m stressed, I find myself frowning more, getting angry with those close to me and neglecting my need to just relax and have a good time. It’s vital for me to remember that while the work I’m doing is very important, it’s even more important that I stay balanced and connected to my friends and family.
To this end: take your significant other out on a surprise date, watch a comedy (like Kung Fu Hustle!), invite your friends over for a potluck meal, dance to your favorite song in the living room, take your dog on the longest walk ever, laugh every time a new piece of work rolls in, call your mom and tell her that you love her.
2. Earth - Nourish your body
Possibly the most important thing you can do in a period of increased stress is to take care of your physical body. Particularly when a lot of your work is mental, you can quickly burn away any resistance to disease you may have had along with disordering your emotional states. DO NOT NEGLECT REGULAR MEALS OF A NOURISHING NATURE. For me, this is the first thing to go. I eat on the run, I stop paying attention to what I eat, sometimes I simply forget to eat altogether. So bad.
To this end: sit down right now and plan out a whole week’s worth of meals then go buy the ingredients, if you have extra time cook a bunch of meals ahead of time and freeze them, make extra certain to eat your meals at regular times and sitting down, splurge a little and buy your favorite foods so you’ll be more inclined to enjoy eating. Also - drink a lot of Pu-Erh.
3. Metal - Cut out unnecessary activity and get organized
Metal is all about cutting things away, paring down, getting ready for the time of difficulty in the Winter. It’s so easy to add things to your plate most of the time, and so difficult to clear them. Use the easy availability of Metal energy here in the autumn to take a calculating look at your list of “to-do’s.” If you can delegate something to someone else, do it. If you can drop something, drop it. If you can delay something until a later time, do that. When you have the list of “have to’s” get them organized. When are your deadlines? When will you have time to work on it? Prioritize! There are of course a hundred ways to deal with these big issues - I use Getting Things Done
4. Water - Cultivate, cultivate, cultivate
Right behind eating well, the second thing to go when I get overwhelmed is my self-cultivation. I think it is utterly vital to force yourself to take care of your spiritual health in stressful situations. I would even suggest doing this if it means losing sleep. I know, crazy. Deepening into the water element will allow you access stores of energy and inspiration you didn’t know you had. It will also help replenish your depleted stores and help you to remember why you’re doing all this crazy stuff in the first place.
To this end, I: throw the Yijing daily, spend half an hour or so in the morning drinking tea outside and contemplating, step up my meditation practice, do a little QiGong every day and focus on the subtle things around me like the calls of birds and the rustle of leaves. Do whatever works for you, but for the love of God, do it. I promise you it will help.
5. Wood - Get out in nature
This doesn’t necessarily relate to the Wood elemental phase on a metaphorical level, but it does on a more basic level. Even though it’s autumn where I am, the evidence of Wood energy is everywhere. In Oregon, things never stop growing. Refreshing myself with the boundless energy of nature helps remind me that while I may feel pretty depleted, there’s a whole world out there just conspiring to fill me full of hope, purpose and drive.
To this end: go for a walk at twilight or dawn, go for a hike in your nearest natural area, hang out by the river, play frisbee in the park, lie on the ground with your bare feet contacting the Earth and just….
breathe.
Got it?
Eric
Tags: Blogging, erics-habits, habits, Home remedies, lifestyle-counseling, nutrition, overwhelm, stress, studentsRelated posts
7 keys to understanding the Classical Chinese Medicine concept of organs
I’d like to piggyback off of the organ clock post and introduce the Chinese medicine theory of organs in a little more
depth. It’s important to understand that there is not just one right way to view the body. There is no more validity in viewing it in the Western medicine manner than there is in viewing it in the Chinese medicine manner. Each system (and many others) have taken different features of the human being to be primary, each system has used their own conceptual understanding to render a viable picture of the body and its interactions. Perhaps most importantly, each system uses their vision of the human being to craft effective treatments. It seems that different systems will create different spheres of effectiveness - a topic for a future post. With no further ado, here are seven things you need to know to enhance your understanding of Chinese medicine organ systems.
- There are twelve organ systems in Chinese medicine: Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney, Pericardium, Triple Burner, Gall Bladder, Liver, Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach and Spleen. The typical convention is to capitalize when we are talking about Chinese organ systems and not to capitalize when we are referring to the anatomical organ known to Western medicine. Another convention is to refer to the in the singular. So, for instance, the Lung organ system includes the Lungs, but we don’t say - for example - The emotion of the Lungs is grief.
- They’re not ORGANS. Probably the most important thing to understand is that the Classical Chinese view is not based on materialism. Although the ancient Chinese did investigate the inside of the body and were clearly aware of the physical structures that Western medicine now names “organs” this is not primary for the medicine’s understanding. The organ is included in a larger concept that is often called the “organ system,” which you have already seen me use many times. This organ system includes the physical organ, it’s associated channel(s), the tissues, surfaces, functions and other bodily features associated with that organ and other more rarefied aspects of the system.
- The organs work together as a dynamic whole. While each system has specific functions and can be talked about in isolation, the beauty of the Chinese medical view of the body only becomes truly apparent when you focus on the interconnections. No system is complete without seeing its relationship to the rest. This can make it a little confusing to study because our brains seem to find it simpler to focus on one mono-dimensional thing at a time. TCM has largely lost its understanding of the physiological interactions of the organs except where those interactions are extremely simplified.
- The organs are a reflection of the macrocosm. This principle relates back to Chinese philosophical understanding of the holographic nature of reality. For a complete review of the holographic worldview, see Michael Talbot’s The Holographic Universe. The basic gist of this philosophy is that the fundamental nature of reality is reflected in its smallest pieces just as much as in its largest. The small reflect the large, and the large reflect the small - they’re both reflecting something much deeper than themselves. In Chinese medicine we study this principle all the time. On one level, each organ is a reflection of all the others - the parts reflect the whole. On another level, the total complex of organs and each organ individually reflect some aspect of nature. For example, the Heart reflects the nature of our Sun and acts as such within the body. Understanding these layers of meaning help us to fully comprehend the human body, and studying the human body through this lens helps us to gain a greater understanding about the Universe. It’s funny like that.
- Following from that, then, the organ systems can be understood using natural and governmental symbolism. For me personally, learning about the Chinese concept of the body was much easier once I learned to think about it as an ecosystem or as a country. With the former, I could simply walk in nature in a mindful way and reflect on the various features I found there. IS the Heart like the Sun? What would that mean if it were? How does that bear out in diagnosis? In treatment? I think this practice does its work on more subtle levels as well - it must be why we are constantly urged to spend time in nature as CCM students. Using metaphors about the government helped me a great deal in understanding the functional relationships between organ systems. If the Heart is like the Emperor (or the King, possibly the President) then what relationships should I see between it and the Lung, which is said to be like the Prime Minister (or Presidential Cabinet?).
- The organs’ interrelationships are therapeutically useful. Far from being a simple intellectual exercise, understanding the organ systems as networks of interrelationship bears out in treatment. An example: imagine we are looking at some kind of problem that - through the intake process, including tongue and pulse taking - we come to understand as being centered in the Heart organ system. A TCM process of differentiation would then focus on the Heart, most likely, only adding other organ systems in limited circumstances (such as adding Lung if there are breathing difficulties). A more nuanced approach will consider the interrelationships using various systems, such as five-element or six conformation. Using a five element approach, we might wonder whether fire is failing to be generated by wood, or whether it is being over-controlled by water. We would search for symptoms that might suggest this, we would recheck the pulse to see whether we had missed something. There are specific systems to use when doing these investigations, but the key is simply to dive deeply into the physiology in order to comprehend pathology. It will yield excellent treatment.
- Even with this complex understanding - the organ systems are not PRIMARY. In a sense, the organ systems are simply a useful way of organizing the overwhelming amount of information we can get from studying the human body. It is a convenient way because it has clear physical correlates. But we must also consider the fluids of the body (Qi, Blood, Jing, Shen, JinYe) as well as any more subtle aspects of the human being. We must also keep in mind that the body is not just a jumble of parts, but a integral functioning whole - when we treat we are not “tonifying the Kidney” but instead having a specific kind of impact on an infinitely complicated system using a particular technique. Maybe that’s splitting hairs, but it seems an important distinction.
There’s a lot more to know - but that’s a good start. Please put any questions or thoughts in the comments!
Eric Grey
Tags: classical-chinese-medicine, exercise, five phases, flu, focus, health, Learning, liver, lung, materialism, nature, organ system, Organ systems, organizing, overwhelm, pericardium, philosophy, pulse, rest, spleen, students, study, studying, symbolism, tea, Theory, traditional-chinese-medicine, visionRelated posts
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